If Only, The Wolf Howled
by Pearlinprocess
Summary: Short what-if AU where Cedric never adopted Frost-Eye. Warnings for graphic depictions of violence and horror.


(( Short AU what-if where Cedric never adopted Frost-Eye. Warning, very graphic depictions of violence and horror. ))

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It was a wild, ferocious beast. A carnal beast. This animal had virtually no sense of kindness. It had barely ever known the taste of it's mother's milk before she perished in the cold, harsh winter. He should have died too, but somehow, he learned to feed on carrion, mice and insects to survive.

Survive it did, but at what a price. Spoiled leftovers of meat and other such paltry offerings cannot satisfy a wolf's appetite for long. So when he got a bit bigger, he began prowling the streets for more, mice, rats and stray cats mostly at first. He would also take any chance he could to steal chunks of fresh meats, once he realized that there were kitchens beyond the garbage cans that contained these precious treats. Anytime someone opened the door and turned their back as they threw out the trash, he would try to sneak in and grab something. Usually he would try to get in and get out quickly, but sometimes they would shut the door, and he would have to hide somewhere for a while, then get out later.

This worked for a while, but he kept getting bigger, and one day when he tried to hide in his usual spot under a cart, he found that he no longer fit, and was caught by the restaurant owner. The owner was shocked and hollered loudly, and grabbed a broom and began to beat the dog, trying to get him out, even though the door was closed, so the young wolf felt trapped. And the foolish human only made the hungry and desperate dog madder by hitting him with the broom. He wasn't that big yet, but he was big enough to take that spoiled, fat man off of his guard as he leaped up with a sudden ferocity, his deadly jaws wide open, and then, snapped shut, right over the man's throat.

The human fell down and thrashed helplessly as the animal brutally tore out his throat, staining his matted off-white fur with the thick, vivid red.

He got a big meal out of that man, until someone finally screamed upon discovering them. Fortunately for that human they ran away from the sight, and the dog, in a panic, let himself out through a window.

After that the dog held no fear of the humans. It would usually only go out of it's way to kill smaller animals, but it didn't fear when a human would try to threaten it. He would snarl and bare his impressive teeth, and if they were smart the human would run. If they weren't that smart, their mangled corpses just added to the infamy of the 'Scarlet Demon-Wolf', as he began to become known throughout the town by the few that saw him and lived to tell the tale.

One day, he had stolen into a farmer's chicken coop early in the morning, and discovered a very young boy already there, collecting the eggs for his family. The naive boy had several amicable dogs throughout the house, and reached out for the animal in an innocent gesture of friendship, "Hi Doggie~"

The farmer heard his child's sudden screams with the deepest, coldest horror he had ever known, and ran towards the sound as fast as possible. The rage in this imposingly large and strong 'man of the land' at finding his youngest son like that was too much for him to bear, and he snapped with madness and grief, lunging at the wolf like a rabid animal himself.

The feral dog tried to reach for his throat, but the man put up his broad arm and caught his teeth there instead. The dog thrashed, and the man quickly clamped his giant, thick, calloused hands over his snout, wrenching his grip from his arm. Then he quickly grabbed the other end of the dog's jaw, and pulled it apart, quickly silencing the last startled yelp the young dog managed to utter, and abruptly ending his short, violent life.

The heavily bleeding man then crawled over to his son, and cradled his body until he passed out into darkness with him.

And so the legend of the 'Scarlet Demon-Wolf' came to an end, horrible legend that it was... If only some extraordinary soul's kindness could have spared them all this terrible fate...

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End file.
